Living on or retiring to the tropical island of
Isla Margarita or Margarita Island, Venezuela
Tropical Island Living!

This is the second page of our information on Living, retiring to
and Working on Margarita Island or Isla Margarita.

On this page you will find Supermarket food prices, Utility information
including Phone, Internet, Electricity and Water prices

Because of the total amount of information on living in Margarita Island we have broken it down into 4 separate pages:

Page One:
Climate and Weather, Property Ownership, Exchange Controls,
Starting a Business and working on Margarita Island

Page Two (you are here):
Supermarket Food Prices, Utilities including phone, Internet, Electricity & Water, Cellular phones (handies).

Page Three:
Language, Banking, House help, Nannies, Gardeners, Political Situation,
Security guards & Security

Page Four:
Schools, Doctors, Hospitals, Medical Insurance, Buying a Car and Insurance, Driving

Food Prices

The cost and choice at the larger supermarkets is not much different than North America or Europe. You will pay more for imported products however they are generally available. Here are some prices from this week's (May 13, 2008) shopping trip to the 2 largest supermarkets on the Island (Central Maderiense & Sigo). Keep in mind that the prices of the vegetables vary according to season and availability just like at home.
We'll try to update this list every couple of weeks.

Venezuela now has both exchange controls and some price controls on basic items. The official exchange rate is now BsF.2,15 to US$1 however if you have US$ cash you might be tempted to exchange in the "parallel market" which flourishes. To date there has been no official attempt here in Margarita to control the parallel market.
It is possible to get more Bs. for your dollar. Unfortunately the government now forbids anyone from mentioning the rate of the unofficial or street dollar. Kind of a "head in the sand" approach but there you are. With any kind of effort you can find out the real rate. The Bolivar Fuerte prices are listed below.

(A kilo is 2.2 lbs.) We don't buy each product every week so they don't get updated all at once.
There are a number of basic products that are price controlled which has caused general shortages. Historically price controls do not work - they just produce shortages.
Ultimately these shortages are becoming more general and things like milk are in very short or non existent supply. Other things like rice, chicken, 1st quality meat, etc., etc. are not on supermarket shelves.

From the Central Maderiense Supermarket - Jan. 14 - Feb. 14, 2005

• Orange Juice 100% - 1.8 L - BsF.10,40

• Orange Juice + water + sugar - 1 L - BsF.4,00

• Ground Coffee - 500 gr. - BsF.5,92

• Tea - box of 100 bags - BsF.18,50 (in short supply) 

• Milk 1 L 2% - long duration - BsF.5,50 (in short supply

• Chicken in pieces per kilo - BsF.10,14 (in short supply)

• Chicken Breast w bones per kilo - BsF.12,91 (in short supply)

• Chickens - whole frozen per kilo - BsF. (currently not available)

• Beef - 1st quality - per kilo BsF.25,11 (In short supply)

• Beef - minced & 2nd cuts - per kilo - BsF.11,72

• Pork Chops - reg. or smoked - per kilo BsF.20,0

• Bacon 250 grams (about a half lb.) BsF.13,35

• Bread - Whole Wheat sliced  500 gr. - BsF.9,00

• Eggs 1 dozen - BsF.5,4 (in short supply)

• Granny Smith Apples from the USA per kilo BsF.16,35

• Red Delicious Apples from the USA per kilo BsF.13,5

• Pears imported per kilo BsF.6,0

• Bananas per kilo BsF.2,95

• Melon per kilo BsF.4,90

• Olive Oil per litre BsF.26,0

• Cooking oil per litre BsF.7,20 (in short supply)

• Margarine 250 gr. - BsF.2,21

• Sugar, white refined 700 gr BsF.2,20 (Hard to find)

• Mayonnaise Kraft 1 kilo. BsF.2,6

• Spaghetti 500 grams - BsF.5,72 (in short supply)

• Rice 1 kg. - BsF.4,05 (in short supply)

• Heinz Catsup 397 gr. BsF.1,75 (Currently not available)

• French's Mustard 397 gr. BsF.7,15

• Bleach 1 L - BsF.2.0 (in short supply)

• Detergent 6 kg. BsF.27,85

• Tuna in oil 140 gr. can - BsF.3,38

• Coca Cola 2 L - BsF.4,0

• Mineral Water (Aqua Mineral Nevada 5.0 L 0 BsF.6,5

• Polar Beer 295 ml cans BsF.1,10

• Polar Beer 222ml. returnable bottles, case of 36 BsF.25,0

• Rum - Cacique national 750 ml BsF.19,0

• Rum - Real Carupano ORO BsF.20,5 (my favourite)

• Vodka - Finlandia imported 750 ml BsF.51

• Vodka - Absolut imported 750 ml BsF.46

• Scotch Whiskey - Chivas Regal (12 yrs) imp. 750ml BsF.116,0

• Dewars White Label - 750 ml - BsF.37

• Large size bag of ice cubes BsF.8,0

• Mozzarella Cheese per kilo - BsF.

• Ham - per kilo - BsF.30,95

• Cheese - Edam from Holland - per kilo - BsF.39,0

• Tomatoes - Small pear - per kilo - BsF.3,45

• Onions per kilo - BsF.2,25

• Cucumber per kilo - BsF.3,10

• Broccoli per kilo - BsF.

• Cauliflower per kilo - BsF.6,10

• Potatoes per kilo - BsF.7,45

• Carrots per kilo - BsF.6,25

• Avocado per kilo - BsF.14,25

• Green Pepper per kilo - BsF.5,45

• Lettuce Romaine per kilo - BsF.4,05

• Lettuce American per kilo - BsF.4,20

• Crest Toothpaste 124 grams. - BsF.3,10

• Shampoo Pantene BsF.7,65

• 55 gr. Gillette Clearstick Antiperspirant BsF.11,0

• Schick disposable razors 10 pak BsF.

• Gillette shaving cream 9 oz. BsF.12,0

• Cigarettes - Belmont - 20 pack - BsF.7,0

Utilities

Phone & Internet information

In many ways this has greatly improved in the years that I have been here. Certainly telephone service as provided by the main company CANTV including Internet and Cellular are nothing short of a miracle in change. Everybody has a digital cellular phone and internet connections are reliable and fast even with a dial-up modem.
In the areas of the Island where it is available DSL service costs from around US$30 per month (1024 Kbps) to US$90 per month (1536 Kbps).
See http://www.cantv.com.ve/seccion.asp?pid=1&sid=1377 for the latest rates.

Current costs for normal residential telephone service run about US$5.20 per month with every minute of local time at an extra cost. We have unlimited local calling for use with the Internet at a cost of around US$24 per month. Internet unlimited dial up (ISP) costs around US$100 per year extra.

I had an additional line installed by the phone company CANTV for a second computer and it was a trial. I started the process on Aug. 18/04 and the phone was installed Oct. 2. When I tried to activate a second Internet connection by phone, also with CANTV, I was told that I would have to wait up to 45 days while the new line went through billing. I finally added the 2nd connection on-line to my existing account and am now using the new phone line to connect without problems.
It seems at times that roadblocks are set up just to test your perseverance. Many foreigners have trouble accepting this sort of illogical and unreasonable treatment. In order to live here you must learn to either accept things as they are or create end plays to get around the problem. Losing your patience and being confrontational NEVER works here - it just puts you further behind.
That said, there is nothing wrong with asking for a manager and calmly explaining the problem although in the above case it didn't help at all.

Cellular Phones

Everyone here has a cel phone - I mean everyone. They are really cheap and can be bought on a pre-pay system where you buy phone cards and apply the amount to your account. If you have a credit history or have an existing phone you can also buy one that will be billed monthly. We purchased a Nokia 6255 and arranged a "Post Pago" plan that costs around US$22 per month. Phone cards are available in all sorts of denominations from BsF.10 right up to BsF.120. Call costs are around US$0.30 per minute for outgoing calls. There is no charge for incoming calls.

In order to activate your foreign cel phone or handie you would have to visit one of the cel phone companies and have them set up your phone to work here. There are a number of offices in the Sambil Shopping Center that do this.

There are two large cel companies here that control 90% of the market. The biggest is Mobilnet which is owned by the national phone company CANTV (owned by the government) - the other is Movistar (formerly Telcel) (owned by Bell South).

Our experience in dealing with both these companies is that Mobilnet is cheaper in per minute costs and easier to deal with. Others may not have had the same experiences as we have had. We do recommend that you stick with one of these two and not the smaller players. Since the government took over Mobilnet the service has deteriorated.

Electricity

Electricity is now run by a company called Seneca which is now owned by the regional goverment and, while the reliability of the service is greatly improved, the paying of the monthly bill (slightly improved with the opening of new payment locations) and dealing with problems continue to be the dread of all who live here. Long payment lines and insensitive service reps continue to be a major problem. I use between 900 - 1400 kw per month at costs running between US$45 - $50 monthly (without A/C). For the month of December 2007 I used 1627 Kilowatt hours at a cost of US$54 or 3.3¢ per kWh. The more power you use the higher the kWh charge is. You can multiply these amounts many times if you are going to have A/C. If you live on the north side of the Island and have a little air flow in your house you shouldn't need A/C. I haven't had it (or missed it) over the years. Garbage pick-up is also charged now on your electric bill. Mine runs less than $2.00 per month and is based on electrical usage - use less, pay less.

Water

The water service is the worst run company in the country. HidroCaribe is still a government entity and is totally inefficient and difficult in the extreme to deal with. I have been receiving monthly bills for more than 7 years for one connection that was closed and more monthly bills for a connection that doesn't exist. Many visits and letters have been unable to resolve the problems as no one seems to have the power (or wants to accept the responsibility) to correct the errors. 
You are always best to buy a property or business that already 
has water service installed & working that is being billed correctly. 
The actual charges for water are quite low.

If you need some time to find a rental place I can recommend either of my vacation properties as affordable & comfortable places to stay for a couple of weeks / months while you are looking around and getting oriented. Have a look at either Casa Trudel Bed & Breakfast which offers  air conditioned rooms with private baths, pool, fridge, sat TV and king size beds for 1 or 2 people or Trudel's Garden Vacation Homes which are 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom homes with fully equipped kitchens and satellite TV and suitable for either couples or up to six persons (max 4 adults). Both properties are close to Margarita's most popular tourist area and beach, Playa El Agua . You can just send me an e-mail at margarita.island@gmail.com  .